I do watch my portions, but not the way you may think. I make sure I eat enough to sustain my activity level. I workout pretty intensely, and I need a lot of calories to perform well.

I’ve learned through trial and error (specifically depriving myself and then feeling like crap) that I need more than double the calories the typical girly magazine says women “should” eat (because I am training for a marathon and will resume triathlon training next week).

For example, last week I pounded out a somewhat speedy 6 mile tempo run in the heat. I guarantee you I wouldn’t have had nearly as good of a run if I had a lighter afternoon snack instead of the 2 servings of animal crackers and Peanut Butter Dreams chocolate peanut butter I consumed. I also wouldn’t have been able to keep up my pace without drinking an entire 16 oz. bottle of full calorie Gatorade.

Sure I could get by on less calories. Heck, I could also stand to lose some body fat. But I don’t want to.

The numbers that matter most to me are not the one on the scale or the one written in my pants’ tag. I’m much prouder of my PRs, my mileage and resting heart rate.

*Note this is just what works for me. I know plenty of athletes who eat lightly the week before a race or else they feel sluggish. My hubby thinks I’m insane for many reasons because I always have pizza the night before a long run or race. He prefers a less fattening meal or else he feels “weighed down”. I encourage you to do some trial and error to see what works best for you. And it’s also helpful to work with a registered dietitian to make sure you’re meeting all of your nutrient needs.*

My philosophy on food- and life- is everything in moderation. I need dessert everyday. I indulge in my fair share of pizza and trans fat-laden baked goods. I don’t consider myself “bad” when I eat ice cream. And I certainly don’t think I’m being “good” if I leave half of my meal on my plate.

Below are my eats for the day. Enjoy 🙂

Before my run was an unpictured banana and a half cup of half caff coffee.

I channeled my inner 8 year old and convinced my parents we had to go get ice cream. That would be full fat, full deliciousness peanut butter swirl cookie dough topped with chocolate sprinkles. Licked the bowl clean.

What’s your definition of healthy eating?

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40 Responses

“This is a running blog and I didn’t want to focus on food. But guess what? You need food to run” Food to Run For baby!!! Great post! Eat what works for you. And I always love pizza as pre-race fuel! Also, nice work on the Dunkin’ coffee : )

Love this post. I am ALL ABOUT everything in moderation. Yes to beer and wine, yes to pizza (which you see at least weekly on my blog) and YES to dessert. People are always amazed when they see how much I eat – especially how calorie dense my breakfasts are but like you, I need the fuel to power me through my workouts.

Great post! I’m going to remember this when I feel bad about my weight ‘The numbers that matter most to me are not the one on the scale or the one written in my pants’ tag. I’m much prouder of my PRs, my mileage and resting heart rate.’

Such a refreshing post! I need to eat to fuel my runs. I choose to eat foods that I really love. Most of my choices are nutritious, but I always leave room for pizza and dessert. My runs never feel great if I haven’t eaten plenty beforehand.

I definitely feel the same way! I TRY to eat as much [healthy] fats as possible throughout the day to fuel my marathon training. I’m always loading up on nut butters and avocado. I don’t feel satisfied after a meal if there’s not some fat in it. I hate the feeling of not feeling fueled enough on a run. Blah! 😉

Hilarious. I definitely destroyed my sesame almonds yesterday too – those things are daaaangerous. Did I still eat the whole thing if I ate it over the course of the whole day? 🙂 Favorite part…” I don’t consider myself “bad” when I eat ice cream. And I certainly don’t think I’m being “good” if I leave half of my meal on my plate.” You will never see a piece of food left on my plates. 🙂

I agree with your “everything in moderation” stance. I’ve found that’s how I need to handle things as well. Otherwise I feel like I’m constantly deprived and then I fall off the deep end with weeks of no workouts and horrendous meals.

I’m also with you on eating before runs – my mother insists I’m crazy because I need to eat before even a 3 mile run. For her, a half marathon doesn’t require any pre-run fuel. Still trying to convince her that fitness and fuel needs are individual to everyone!

Can’t wait to hear all about your tri training when you start up again – and I’ll continue to be amazed by your long runs!

Personally, I tend to eat a low-calorie, relatively low-carb diet throughout the week. It helps me feel excited about indulging in essentially whatever I want for Saturday night dinner/dessert, and I usually eat an indulgent lunch Sunday, too. This balance works for me. I’m sure I could change out items to get in more nutrients, and I’m sure plenty of folks would NEVER eat the sort of things I eat Saturday night — but I love the fact that I get to eat anything I want at SOME POINT, just not all the time 🙂

So glad I’m not the only one who reads those magazines and thinks “If that’s all I ate in one day I would starve!!” Running/being an athlete requires a lot of fuel, and I can see why you’ve had a hard time avoiding talking about food on the blog! Running and food sort of go hand in hand.

I can’t even tell you how much I love this post! Every word of it!! 🙂 Although my favorite paragraph is the one that ends “I’m much prouder of my PRs, my mileage and resting heart rate.” Amen, sista!!

I think there is a distinct distance between eating to fuel athletic performance/training…and eating to lose weight, or to fuel a relatively sedentary lifestyle. Yes, everyone needs to find the style/caloric intake that works for them, but the point is the same: you can’t deprive yourself and then expect to run well. Your body needs the energy food provides! It’s a different way of looking at what you’re eating, but it’s super important.

And I love to indulge in dessert every day too…including full fat, loaded with goodies ice cream. 🙂 Obviously I don’t eat a whopping Cold Stone “Gotta Have It” sized cone, but a little dessert everyday is essential to my healthy lifestyle!

I love this post!! On days I have longer runs I just want to eat and eat! I try to keep it balanced and make sure to have lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains…BUT I also like to end most nights with my favorite dessert: vanilla frozen yogurt w/ chopped almonds and dark chocolate chips! We work hard for our desserts! 🙂

Glad you had a great time in Chicago! I have relatives there – it’s one of my favorite cities! I really hope I can go to the Healthy Living Summit next year…I was very jealous reading about it on different blogs…maybe next year!

I’m a new reader, and I love your blog! I especially loved this post, and I wanted to comment saying that I agree with your definition of healthy eating. I am also a (quite new) athlete and I eat more than most people I know. And I need to. I feel much better with a lot of calories and decently high amounts of fat. I eat nutrient dense food most of the time, and I definitely have my fair share of brownies, chocolate covered espresso beans, etc etc. And I’m in the best shape of my life, and am loving it!

What a fantastic post. This is the philosophy that I have finally come to own in my life and it took a while to embrace it, after years of psycho dieting and worrying that carrots were “bad” or an apple was “bad”- ridiculousness.
I’m also a newbie runner and finding my appetite has increased with my more strenuous kick-butt workouts. All your meals look amazing. YUM. 😉

what a great attitude, i love that! i’ve never been worried about being “skinny”, i think strength and muscles are where it’s at! as for healthy eating, i guess to me it varies from person to person. there’s probably no “one way” to do things, as long as your getting the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and whatevers your body needs than i say, do it up!

Just found your blog via Caitlin’s (HTP) and I will definitely be reading every post from now on! I love your ambitious nature, training goals and dedication to said training. I can only hope to emulate you! I’m training for my second marathon but currently plagued by injury…I think your attitude is so refreshing and provides me with a great sense of perspective on my own training goals.

One thing I have to say with this post though is that from my point of view you don’t eat excessively or even that much at all given your activity level! Looks about 2000 calories to me which is nowhere near more than double the 1200 level you alluded to (and that’s for weight loss…I think those evil magazines generally have us at about 1500 for maintenance.) So even though your philosophy is great, don’t think you’re some kind of eating machine because I’ve seen athletes pack away a lot more than you (and I am one of them…not an athlete, an eating machine lol)